A leading Catholic cleric has hit out at the "criticism and
mud-slinging" between politicians and public that is characterising the
general election campaign.
In his first public comment on the most important national election in modern times, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin Sunday called on Christians in Ireland to be vocal about the values they want for "a caring" society.
Addressing
a church celebration of the World Day of the Sick in Clontarf, Co
Dublin, Archbishop Martin said: "We stand at an important moment
regarding the future of our Irish society."
In a difficult
economic situation, Christians as individuals, as citizens and as
voters, were called on to be discerning with regard to their Christian
values, the archbishop said.
"In a climate marked too often only
by criticism and mud-slinging, we Christians are called to drive for a
sense of common purpose regarding the type of society we wish our
political leaders to generate and the values that we would wish to see
enshrined in that society," Dr Martin said.
"Our
celebration which places the sick and the weak at the centre of its
reflection cannot but generate in us a desire to ensure that our sick
and marginalised will encounter a society in which they are respected,
where each and every one of them receives the highest possible care."
Dr
Martin said Christians could not but aspire to see a society in which
the elderly lived their latter years in tranquillity and security.
The
sick and dying also challenged Catholics to work for the renewal of
their church so that it could "truly be a community built up around the
message and the presence of Jesus Christ".